Game board



June 8, 1937. Q A, ANDERSON Er AL 2,083,108

GAME BOARD Filed June 27, 1956 @HA/#Lgs A.ANDERS0N A/vb Max Toe/N Y mvENTons B7 Q01. P` [4t/kenaf ATTORNEY Patented `lune 8, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIcE GAME BOARD Application June 27, 1936, serial'No. '87,684` l 3 Claims.

Our invention relates to game boards and has particular reference to game boards in which a ball is projected toward one end of the board and is allowed to roll back over a series of ob- 5 stacles and traps.

The object of our invention is to provide a game board having a manually controlled spring operated ball projecting device used in connection with a magazine adapted to hold -a number of balls, the device being adapted to eject from the magazine one ball at a time.

We are aware that similar ball projecting devices have been used with game boards, but these devices have been based on a well known principle that if a ball is driven against the end ball in a series of abutting balls placed in the line of drive, then only the last ball will be driven away, the rest of the abutting balls remaining in their places. For this purpose usually an auxiliary ball is employed between the striking deviceV and the row of balls in the magazine.

We have found, however, that it is possible tor construct a striking device which will also propel only the last ball in a magazine without any intermediate floating ball or similar body. For this purpose we employ a striking plunger with a spring so arranged, that the spring, upon being compressed and released, Will propel the plunger during the rst portion of its travel only,

the plunger traveling the rest of the distance to the inner ball in the magazine by inertia. Our plunger therefore rebounds after striking the inner ball, and the shock is successively transmitted to the end ball, which alone becomes ejected'from the magazine. p

Another object of our invention is to provide a game board with traps arranged in pairs with pivotally mounted gates arranged so, that vwhen one trap is occupied by a ball, the gate closesthe entrance to the other trap.v This arrangement renders certain traps more diicult for being reached by the ball, these traps being assigned correspondingly higher values in the game.

Another object of our invention is to provide a game board having a pivotally supported trough (Cl. 273-129) n game board with supplementary ball projecting devices adapted to'receive some of the balls rolling down the board, these devices being adapted to be manually operated for projecting these balls toward certain traps which cannot other- 5 wise receive the balls.

Another object of our invention is to provide a game board having secondary supplementary ball projecting devices, adapted to receive some of the balls projected by the first supplementary 10 projecting devices, so as to project the balls toward special traps, these traps being accordingly assigned especially high numbers or values in the game.

Our invention is more fully described in the 15 accompanying `specification and drawing in which- Fig. l is a top plan view of our game board with the cover on the ball projecting device removed, Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken on the line 2-2 20 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a detail sectional. view of thev projecting device, Fig. 4 isa plan view of the same, and Fig. 5 is a det-ail view of a modified trough.

Our game board consists of an elongated board I with a peg 2 supporting one end of the board in a raised position. A metal strip 3 is fastened all around the board'to its edges, forming a marginal flange for retaining playing balls on the board. A similar strip Ily is mounted near the 30 right hand side of the board, forming a runway 5 for the balls. A device for propelling the balls is tted in the rear portion of this runway. This device consists of an inverted trough or channel B closed at the rear end by a cover plate I with 35 a hole for a plunger 8. A second plate 9 is tted in the channel at a distance from the cover l and is also provided with a hole for the plunger 8. The plunger has on its rear end a thumb handle I0 and a flat head II on the front or 40 upper end. A compression spring l2 is placed on the plunger between the head II and the partition plate 9. 'Ihe spring is made shorter than the available space between the head II and the plate 9 when plunger is moved forward with the 45 handle I0 resting against the cover plate l. The channel 6 forms a magazineffor playing balls I3 in its front portion, the inner ball resting against pins I4. These pins are placed so that the head I I of the plunger touches the rear ball when the 50 handle I0 rests against the cover 1.

The plunger 8 is shown in Fig. 4 pulled back by a players nger (not shown) engaging the handle I0, compressing the spring I2. Upon release ofthe handle I0 the plunger moves for- 55 ward under action of the spring l2, until the latter fully expands to its free length as shown in Fig. 3. The plunger then continues to travel by inertia until the head il strikes the rear ballv these pockets being assigned diierent valuesoiv numbers according to their location. There are.

also traps I6 and I1 for the balls. The trapv Iii is placed near the trap Il and a swinging gate I8 is placed in front of these traps, pivotally mounted on a pin I9. The gate has'two sides' at an; angle to each other and balanced so as to take` position shown at the right in. Figi 1, clos'ingbothf'i traps. A ball, being caught in the trap I l, holds one leg of the gate against the side of the trap I6 thereby preventing'further rotation of the gate and positively closing the trap i6. TherefOre both traps can receive balls onlyY in case if a ball falls first in the trap I6, the latter Ytrap being of a higher value in the game.

A pair of traps 20 are placed at the sides of a trough 2| rotatively supported on pivots 22 in brackets 23. The front endof the trough is open but has gates 24 at the sides extending in front of the trapsv20. The trough is balanced so that its front end is heavier and tends to rest against the board as shown in Fig. 2 thereby closing the traps 20 by the gates 24. The rear'end of the trough is closed so that when a ball rolls on the trough, it is stopped at the rear end of the latter causing the trough to tilt over thereby opening the traps 20, These traps can then re- Vceive balls and are accordingly assigned high numbers in the game.

The trough may be balanced so as to remain in either of its operative positions and have its'rear end open as shown in Fig. 5. The ball, when rolling over the trough 25, tilts it over so as to open the gates in front of the traps 20, the ball continuing to roll further until it falls into one of the pockets or returns to theV rear of the board Without scoring any number.

The balls are guided or deflected by rails 26 and pins 2l.

Supplementary ball projecting devices are located in the rear portion of the board. These devices consist of ilat springs attached at one end to brackets 28. The other end of a spring 29 is placed over an open slot 30 in a plate 3l. Balls are guided to the secondary propelling devices by rails 32 and 33. The balls are projected by deflecting springs 29 and releasing them again, the end of the spring extending beyond ``the plate 3| Vso as to be accessible to theplayers finger. Curved guiding rails 34vdirect .the balls from the springs 29 to a secondary supplementary (or tertiary) projecting device 35 consisting of a tube with a slot 36 for a handleofa plunger 31. A spring 38 keeps the plunger under tension. Rails 39 prevent balls from reaching the secondary supplementary projecting device or gun 35.

Other traps 4D and 4| are located at the rear of the board.

It is understood that our game board may be further moriiied Without departing from the spirit of our invention as set forth in the appended claims,

{'We claim as our invention:

1. A game board comprising a ball projecting device consisting of a tubular member, forming Ta'fmagazine for playing balls in its rear portion, a plunger slidably tted in the front end vof the tubular member, a partition in the member separating the magazine from the plunger and provided with an aperture for the innermost ball, the ball being adapted to rest against the edges of the aperture partly projecting beyond the partition, a ilat head on the plunger adaptednto `strike centrally the projected portion of "the innermost ball, and a spring on the plunger adapted to move the plunger forward, the front end of the plunger extending beyond the tubular member and being adapted to be manually pulled out for compressingthe spring, the spring being shorter than the total travel of the plunger, the last portion of the travel of the plunger being thereby effected by the force of inertia only.

2. A game board'comprising a ball projecting device'consisting of a tubular member forming a magazine for playing balls in its rear. portion, a plunger slidably tted in the front end of the tubular member, a partition in the member provided with Va relatively large aperture for lthe innermost ball, the latter being adapted to partly project through the aperture toward the plunger, a ilat head onthe plunger, and a spring on the plunger adapted to move the plunger against thel balls, the front end of the Aplunger extending beyond the tubular member and being adapted to be manually pulled out for compressing the spring, the flat head Ybeing'adaptedto strike the innermost ball lexactly through its center of gravity', the spring being shorter than the total travel of the plunger, the last portion of the plunger travel being thereby effected by the force of inertia only.

3. A game board comprising a ball projecting device consisting of a tubular lmember forming a magazine for playing balls in its rear portion, a

plunger slidably tted in the front end of the tubular member by its middle portion, apartition in the tubular member at the inner end of the magazine provided with a relatively large aperture for the innermost ball, the latter being t adapted to partly project beyond-the edges of the aperture toward the plunger, a flat head on the rear end of the plunger, and a spring supported on the plunger between the front end of the tubular member and the flat head, the

front end of the plunger being adapted to be manually pulled for compressing the spring, the

flat headbeing adapted to strike the innermost portion of the ball through its center of gravity. Y

CHARLES A. ANDERSON.

MAX TOBIN. 

